---
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
summary: Deputy general counsel of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency who believed
  Israel was the Achilles heel of U.S. nonproliferation policy.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Charles N. Van Doren was the deputy general counsel of the [Arms Control and Disarmament Agency](/organizations/arms-control-and-disarmament-agency/) in the [Nixon](/people/richard-nixon/) administration. He was convinced that [Israel](/places/israel/) was the "Achilles heel" of [America](/places/united-states/)'s [NPT](/events/nuclear-nonproliferation-treaty/) policy, stating, "We were winking at it." Van Doren repeatedly tried to get the NPT on the agenda for talks on the [Middle East](/places/middle-east/), but was told there was "too much on the table." He understood the underlying reason: an order had gone out that no nuclear information on Israeli proliferation was to be put out, which he found very frustrating.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 16.